Lucifer, Leviathan, Lilith, and other Mysterious Creatures of the Bible

By (author) Joel R. Soza

Paperback - £25.00

Publication date:

16 March 2017

Length of book:

118 pages

Publisher

Hamilton Books

ISBN-13: 9780761868972

The bible is indeed a world of the strange and mysterious when it comes to the variety of creatures that are presented in its texts. These often times serve as images of good versus evil, or order versus chaos. Flat and narrowly myopic literal readings of the bible that at times lacks for imagination and creative insight to the bible’s occasional and amazingly metaphorical maze fall far short of what is needed to appreciate the full depth of the biblical world’s imagery. Therefore this work explores the meaning of the bible’s mysterious creatures with an emphasis on three creatures that all appear in the book of the prophet Isaiah: Lucifer (Isa 14:12), Leviathan (Isa 27:1), and Lilith (Isa 34:14). These mysterious creatures of the bible live on and can both inspire and cause fear. It is a marvelous mixed world of biblical metaphor and realism to be found in the likes of Lucifer, Leviathan, Lilith and the rest of the mysterious creatures that make a biblical appearance.
Soza has given us much to consider when it comes to the mysterious, non-human creatures mentioned in the Bible, and more generally, when it comes to the presence of good and evil in the world around us. Beginning with today’s fixation on Yeti, Frankenstein, and many others, he leads us through the macabre and fantastic creatures of antiquity, in order to understand how the Bible’s references to Leviathan, Behemoth, Lucifer, the “sea monsters” (Gen 1:21), and others, draw on our daily struggles with fears and deep-seated uncertainties in the human psyche. Along the way, Soza reminds us of the Bible’s message that the kingdom of God gains the final victory over all chaos and disorder. He has provided a welcome addition to the literature on this topic. Anyone looking for more on this fascinating subject will want to start here.